Biology:Paedoclione doliiformis

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Short description: Species of gastropod


Paedoclione doliiformis
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Clade: Euopisthobranchia
Order: Pteropoda
Family: Clionidae
Genus: Paedoclione
Danforth, 1907[1]
Species:
P. doliiformis
Binomial name
Paedoclione doliiformis
Danforth, 1907[1]

Paedoclione doliiformis is a species of sea angel, a small floating sea slug, a pelagic marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clionidae.

Paedoclione doliiformis is the only species in the genus Paedoclione.[2]

The generic name is a reference to the paedomorphic habit of this genus, which retains many larval features throughout its life.[3]

Paedoclione doliiformis was originally described by Charles Haskell Danforth in 1907.[1] It was not collected by zoologists for the next 61 years.[4] It was rediscovered in 1968 by Lalli (1972).[4]

Distribution

The type locality of Paedoclione doliiformis is Casco Bay, Portland, Maine.[1]

The distribution includes St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia, the Gulf of Maine[3][4] and possibly elsewhere.

Description

Drawing of ventral view of live Paedoclione doliiformis.

Paedoclione doliiformis retains juvenile (larval) physical characteristics for the whole of its life.[4] This is called neoteny (a kind of pedomorphosis).[4]

The body length is up to 1.5 mm.[2] Paedoclione doliiformis has no shell.[2]

It is a gelatinous, mostly transparent pteropod, and it only has a shell in its embryonic stage.[citation needed]

The orange visceral sac is confined to the anterior part.

Life cycle

Mating is carried out ventrally for mutual fertilization. The following spring, this results in a free-floating, gelatinous egg mass.

Eggs hatch after three days, and the shell is retained until the 11th day.[3]

Feeding habits

Paedoclione doliiformis feeds exclusively on Limacina helicina and on Limacina retroversa, but solely on juveniles with shells smaller than 1 mm.[5] Its abundance is closely linked to that of its prey.[3]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Danforth C. H. (1907) "A new pteropod from New England". Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History 34: 1–19, figs A-B, pls 1–4. (with introduction by J. S. Kingsley) page 2.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Genus Paedoclione". Marine Species Identification Portal, accessed 4 February 2011.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lalli C. M. & Conover R. J. (1973). "Reproduction and development of Paedoclione doliiformis, and a comparison with Clione limacina (Opisthobranchia: Gymnosomata)". Marine Biology 19(1): 13–22. doi:10.1007/BF00355415.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Lalli C. M. (1972). "Food and feeding in Paedoclione doliiformis Danforth, a neotenous gymnosomatous pteropod". Biological Bulletin 143(2): 392-402, 4 figs. abstract and PDF.
  5. Lalli C. M. & Gilmer R. W. (1989). Pelagic Snails. The biology of holoplanktonic gastropod molluscs. Stanford University Press: Stanford, California. page 185, 188.

Wikidata ☰ Q3142296 entry